- Cedric and Astryx join the battle, having followed us into the cave - The lich curses Cedric, while also using an attack that causes Graxen to experience searing pain - he turns invisible in response, attempting to regroup - Two of the skeletons rush towards Astryx, biting her. The wound becomes instantly infected - Steve suddenly feels as if something is looking at her - The Boneclaws surround Steve. One of the Boneclaws throws her into the nearby stream, knocking her unconscious - Graxen attempts to save Steve, but is paralysed by an Eye Crawler - Ellette uses an ability granted to her by her infection by the Spellplague - entering a vastly empowered embodiment, her Vaelithar form - Steve slips further away down the stream, drowning deep within the cave - The lich casts Time Stop, freezing the entire cave in place - Graxen is felled by the following attack, while Ellette is downed but immediately returned to her feet - Astryx uses Revivify to bring Graxen back to life - The lich speaks the forbidden language, brining the four Bone Claws towards him. They encircle him, beginning to cast some kind of ritual - Cedric uses Zipit to stop one of the Boneclaws from speaking, while Ellette kills another with her Moonblade - The lich completes the spell, which dissipates Cedric’s body - seeming to teleport him to another plane. The use of this spell drains the remaining Boneclaws - The portal becomes increasingly unstable, a shadowy version of Cedric emerging from it - Graxen kills the remaining Skeletons before diving into the stream after Steve. He finds her corpse in a submerged cavern. Purple sinews grow along her face, while appears even more sunken than before. Although dead, her expression seems oddly hollow - Ellette casts Disintegrate, badly damaging the lich - and blasting away his left arm - The lich attempts to cast Power Word Kill against Ellette, but she uses Magic Mirror - bouncing the spell back against the lich, destroying him. - As he dies, he laughs - promising to meet us all again - Graxen emerges from the stream with Steve’s body. Her skin has paled and turned purple. Her body begins to transform, her bones cracking and reforming. Her skin melts away, revealing a Mindflayer - Steve has been affected by Ceremorphosis - Steve has becomes an Illithid Squidling - Cedric’s body appears to return to normal - As part of her transformation, Steve takes on the name Sine-S’te Malin Thelid-Xalli - One of the chests, where Steve died, holds 20,000 GP while the other holds old relics - Cedric recounts having arrived in a colourless world that reminded him of his own, but wrong - familiar but unfamiliar. All life felt drained from everything around him - We leave the cave, returning to the keep with Steve in tow - despite her protests - The guards at the gate of the keep stop us, but are swiftly stared down by Ellette - Inside the keep, a group of children run to greet us. Ellette urges them to go to bed - Erin notices Steve’s new form, charging towards her - She grabs at Steve’s tentacles, pulling firming - before naming her Squidge - Rasp arrives, sniffing at Steve - Rasp appears to recognise Steve - Rasp speaks telepathically with Steve, asking about her transformation - Big Guy steps in, asking about Steve. Both Graxen and Cedric retreat, claiming they need to check on the baby - Ellette points to the Squidling, revealing it to be Steve - Big Guy is adamant that we fix her - He picks her up, cradling her as she sobs. He brings her home, as Ellette promises to speak with Elminster the following morning - A thunderous roar bellows from outside